Money laundering is concealing or disguising the origin of objects derived from a criminal offence, or acquiring, possessing, transferring or using them while knowing or having to suspect their criminal origin.
Legal basis
Articles 420bis to 420quater of the Dutch Criminal Code contain the offences, covering intentional laundering, negligent laundering and habitual laundering. Since 2017 Article 420bis.1 has covered simple laundering: merely acquiring or possessing an object derived from one’s own offence, with a lower maximum sentence. That reflects the exclusion rule developed in Supreme Court case law: someone who merely holds an object derived from their own offence does not automatically commit the more serious form. Proof usually follows the step-by-step approach from that case law: where there is a suspicion of laundering, the defendant may be expected to give a concrete, verifiable account of the origin that is not highly improbable from the outset. Alongside the criminal law, the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act applies to institutions.
How it works in practice
Cases almost always begin with a report of an unusual transaction or with cash found during a check. The heart of the defence is the account of origin, which must be supported by documents: loan agreements, sale receipts, foreign bank statements. A bare assertion that the money came from family does not suffice.
Where it goes wrong
Defendants stay silent at the early stage and produce an explanation only at trial, where it is then set aside as insufficiently verifiable. A second problem is the interaction with confiscation proceedings, which apply a different evidential regime. Third, entrepreneurs underestimate that an otherwise lawful business can be treated as a laundering vehicle where funds are mixed.
Related terms
Money laundering connects to confiscation of criminal proceeds, seizure and the UBO register.
Are you suspected of money laundering? Our criminal lawyers build the account of origin with documents.
